opposing player calling a let

when a ball rolls onto your side of the court. I had an opponent call a let this weekend for a ball that rolled (well) behind me. I just happened to be ahead in the point and he had already given up on chasing down my shot. Then, voila, a ball rolled behind me before our ball bounced twice, and he called a let. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a let can only be called by the player on the side of court where the ball rolls across/into, right? We argued and I eventually agreed to replay the point, which I lost (due to being irate over the let call). Am I wrong on this?

You are wrong- a let can be called by anyone on the court. I'll routinely call a let for balls that roll through the back of the opponents court- if I am sitting there trying to decide whether the ball could potentially injure my opponent then I am clearly distracted by it and its far better to just call the let and play the point over.

from the code:

Lets called when balls roll on the court. When a ball from an adjacent
court enters the playing area, any player shall call a let as soon as the player
becomes aware of the ball. The player loses the right to call a let if the player
unreasonably delays in making the call.

I had a player, on the court NEXT to mine, call a let FOR MY COURT, when his ball started rolling towards my court. He yelled it so loudly, my opponents quit playing in the middle of a crucial point, and the ball never rolled onto our court.

Either player can call a let regardless of which side of the court the ball is on if it is a distraction. BUT a let should not be used as a way to get off the hook when you are clearly at a disadvantage in the point. If your opponent has a sitter,you shouldn't call a let to get to replay the point. It is not a get out of jail free card.

I think the proper reply when your opponent calls a prompt let for a ball rolling around behind you is "Thank you!"

From my side of the court, it can be difficult to judge just how far behind you the ball is. While I am squinting and trying to see if the ball is close enough to you to be a threat, I am no longer focused on the point. So I call a let as soon as I see that ball, regardless of who was ahead in the point. Sometimes I cost myself a point, but it is worth it to avoid injury to my opponent.

I used to blow up when things like that happened to me. But now, i try to remain calm, the person on the next court is actually trying to be helpful and prevent a potential injury from someone stepping on an unseen ball. These are the things we have to deal with playing amateur tennis.

I had a player, on the court NEXT to mine, call a let FOR MY COURT, when his ball started rolling towards my court. He yelled it so loudly, my opponents quit playing in the middle of a crucial point, and the ball never rolled onto our court.

I used to blow up when things like that happened to me. But now, i try to remain calm, the person on the next court is actually trying to be helpful and prevent a potential injury from someone stepping on an unseen ball. These are the things we have to deal with playing amateur tennis.

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Agreed, but the etiquitte thing to say is "ball" not "let" & let them call their own match.

I am 100% certain that I have yelled "let" on this in the past as my concern was definately more slanted toward the personal safety of the neighboring court than proper etiquitte.

when a ball rolls onto your side of the court. I had an opponent call a let this weekend for a ball that rolled (well) behind me. I just happened to be ahead in the point and he had already given up on chasing down my shot. Then, voila, a ball rolled behind me before our ball bounced twice, and he called a let. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a let can only be called by the player on the side of court where the ball rolls across/into, right? We argued and I eventually agreed to replay the point, which I lost (due to being irate over the let call). Am I wrong on this?

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Honestly, I would be grateful rather than mad in this situation.

Your opponent is trying to keep you safe. No point is worth your health.

I always interpreted the comments to limit the ability to call a let for balls on your side of the court. Not saying that I'm right. The alternate reading is that you can't call a let for the court next to you when your ball intrudes onto their court. Any super rules gurus out there care to clear this up?

USTA Comment 23.4: Who may call a let? Only an official or player may call a let. A player may call a let only on the player’s court.

I think the proper reply when your opponent calls a prompt let for a ball rolling around behind you is "Thank you!"

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I would agree with you 99.99999999% of the time. But this time, the opposing player had given up on the point well before the ball rolled onto my court from the adjacent court. He used the let call to bail himself out.

I always interpreted the comments to limit the ability to call a let for balls on your side of the court. Not saying that I'm right. The alternate reading is that you can't call a let for the court next to you when your ball intrudes onto their court. Any super rules gurus out there care to clear this up?

USTA Comment 23.4: Who may call a let? Only an official or player may call a let. A player may call a let only on the player’s court.

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That means that if your ball rolls onto another court, you can't call a let to stop another match.

Any player can call a let; however, it has to be prompt, and it would need to have a chance at hindering someone. If you hit the ball, and he had no play on the ball, then he called the let that wouldn't be correct. He would need to call the let before you hit the shot.

Any player can call a let; however, it has to be prompt, and it would need to have a chance at hindering someone. If you hit the ball, and he had no play on the ball, then he called the let that wouldn't be correct. He would need to call the let before you hit the shot.

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Many players don't seem to understand that a let should be called if the ball has a chance of hindering someone. Many people call lets if they see a stray ball roll and settle along the back fence. I certainly don't want anyone to get injured, but too many people let themselves get distracted by stray balls that are not on the court or near the court and do not hinder anyone.

I would agree with you 99.99999999% of the time. But this time, the opposing player had given up on the point well before the ball rolled onto my court from the adjacent court. He used the let call to bail himself out.

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Well, OK. But the scenario you describe is rather peculiar.

You hit a ball. He decides not to look at it or chase it. Instead, he remains facing you, focusing not on you but on a ball that is rolling. So he can't know when the ball bounced twice.

Meanwhile, you are unaware that there is a ball behind you but can still declare that the ball appeared after you struck your winner but before it bounced twice but did not distract your opponent in any way. That is all mighty unusual.

I guess the best we can do is what the Code requires, which is that he call the let promptly.

I play with a lady who drives me nuts with this. If someone calls a let (either a ball rolling onto the court or a net cord), she thinks they are doing it to gain an advantage. It is no fun playing with someone who is that suspicious about things.

Most memorable let call that I just had to roll my eyes at was at our State league championships. I hit a deep topspin shot to my opponents backhand that he completely shanks. The ball goes a good 100 feet up in the air and is clearly drifting wide of the court. Stray ball from the court next to us rolls onto my side of the court and he calls a let.

His ball then proceeds to land in the middle of the next court over a second or two later. It was comical.

I had a player from our opponents team hit a ball that rolled onto our court and hit my feet while I was preparing to hit a ball during a rally. I missed the shot and wasn't sure what happened. I looked around and saw the ball rolling away from my foot. As I looked over to the next court, both players from the other team were just standing there staring, waiting for me to go get their ball. I was hot. I sent the ball down to the other end of the courts interrupting two other matches.

I can't imagine watching a ball hit from my court roll into the feet of another player and not say anything. They were both pissed because of how I hit the ball away, but neither one apologized for letting me get about an inch from rolling my ankle. When I called them on it they were just stunned.

I will always interrupt play on another court if my ball could possibly be a hazard. The other court may not know the ball is there and could easily step on it. A bad ankle sprain can last months, and I would much rather have the next court replay a point than end a match with an injury.

I would agree with you 99.99999999% of the time. But this time, the opposing player had given up on the point well before the ball rolled onto my court from the adjacent court. He used the let call to bail himself out.

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I would say your opponent got a very, very lucky break with the ball rolling onto the court as you were coincidentally hitting a winner. There is not much to do except grin and bear it.

Regarding the winner... A player with class will say "nice shot" and concede the point. They will acknowledge that they had lost the point anyway and won't use the loose ball as an excuse for a do-over.

I played a mixed match a few months ago where a ball rolled onto the court as I blew my return of serve. When my partner (appropriately) called a let I replied that the ball didn't have anything to do with my return (it didn't) and we gave our opponents the point. Five minutes later another ball rolled onto the court as I served an ace. Our opponets called a let and we replayed the point without complaint. Of course, I knew it was a chicken call since they wouldn't have returned the serve anyway - especially after I had just conceded a point in a similar situation.

Kevo- its a tough situation. The rules don't allow for those guys to call a let on your court. I tend to lean towards letting people know if a ball is getting into a dangerous spot on a different court just because I don't think rec tennis is worth getting injured for and the guy who was "up" in the point got irritated. SO just remember that you were upset because the guys on the next court didn't read your mind that you would want them to break the rules.

My interpretation is similar to those above, in the spirit of the rule/code it should not be used as a "Get out of jail free card" just as spt noted. That's similar to hooking, if someone is going to pull that they know they are in essence cheating, but not much one can do about it.

However, I can see where a ball rolling across the opponent's court, even if its not at that moment going to hinder the opponent, it is a distraction to me simply b/c I am now watching it instead of the ball in play. In that sense it is hindering me. This is of course only true if the ball rolls on to the court before I make my shot!

I know sometimes when my opponent leaves a 1st serve ball on the court it can be a bit distracting to me. I'm thinking to myself "Should I or should I not hit a ball to where that ball is laying?" In those cases though, by not asking after the first serve for it to be cleared, I have agreed to play with it laying there whether it distracts me or not during the subsequent point. Likewise so has my opponent, so if he trips over it and loses the point...too bad...for him.

Either player can call a let regardless of which side of the court the ball is on if it is a distraction. BUT a let should not be used as a way to get off the hook when you are clearly at a disadvantage in the point. If your opponent has a sitter,you shouldn't call a let to get to replay the point. It is not a get out of jail free card.

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I had a guy in a tournament call lets over anything he could think of when I was about to put away an easy sitter, even balls on other courts and things outside the fence. He was known for such behavior. It is cheating.

I'm always surprised at some of the balls people will leave on the court before a point starts. Like, when they leave it somewhere between the fence/curtain and the baseline. If I lob and they turn to run, they could easily have to play a shot from where the ball is lying.